Unlocked (the ninth)

Eye level is different for everyone so perspectives aren’t ever the same. As a new wheelchair user my eye level has literally given me new horizons. Sometimes this is good, I’m not going to fall over so I look up more at the sky and trees. Sometimes, less desirable, in a crowded room or street I am often at groin or buttock level.

These collages are compiled from manipulated photographs I have taken with my phone and show the things I can’t easily access and have to be fought for through layers of need and new priority. They preference spines, legs and medication, symbolised by toadstools with yew trees representing mortality; all veiling and constraining, with a degree of humour, the nature I am desperate to connect with.

I named this collection Unlocked because I suffered a life changing spinal injury in 2018. For 18 months after I was too busy working out how to adapt to life with my changed abilities to be able to make any art. I wanted to but had a complete creative block. When lockdown came I guess the pressure to fit into an 'able' society was lifted. With this freedom I found myself creating once more and the Unlocked series is the result of that process. I became creatively Unlocked in lockdown!

The Unlocked digital collages are available as limited edition giclee prints on museum quality 310gsm Hahnemuhle German Etching paper, in 2 sizes. They are sold unframed. Please contact me if you would like to discuss framing or mounting options.

Please note that there may be slight colour variations from the original due to the photographic process and viewing device.